Flour to be fortified with folic acid under Government plans

Flour will be fortified with folic acid under government plans to prevent birth defects. Ministers said they hope the measures will spare hundreds of families from suffering, by cutting incidence of congenital conditions such as spina bifida and other neural tube defects. The Government today launches a consultation on whether folic acid should be added to flour, meaning it would automatically be included in foodstuffs such as bread. Public health minister Seema Kennedy said: “We all want to give our children the best start in life and a birth defect diagnosis is devastating for parents. “The simple measure of adding folic acid to flour would help spare hundreds of families from such a life-changing event. “Women from the poorest areas are less likely to take folic acid supplements and it is right that we do all we can to protect the most vulnerable in society.” Around 1,000 pregnancies are affected by neural tube defects each year in the UK and more than 40 per cent of cases are fatal. Under the plans to fortify flour, experts predict that around 200 birth defects a year could be prevented. The 12-week consultation follows years of campaigning by charities including Shine, which represents people with spina bifida. Pregnant women are currently advised to take a folic acid supplement before conceiving and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy to cut the risk of their baby developing spina bifida or anencephaly, where the majority of the brain never develops. But some women forget to take… [Read full story]